There's something pretty special about a group of men and boys bonding, said David River, the president of Boys to Men New Mexico, a nonprofit mentoring program.

Boys to Men is calling on boys ages 12-17 to get in on the fun and sign up to participate in the annual Rites of Passage Adventure Weekend, which will be held Oct. 1-3. The event, led by Santa Fe firefighter David Herzenberg, can accommodate 16 boys.

"The weekend itself really marks something in the life of boys," River said. "We give them a chance to look at the kind of men they're going to grow into and support them."

River doesn't want to give away any of the specifics of the upcoming weekend so the boys who participate will be surprised, but he will offer any information to parents who want it.

Parents and boys are welcome to attend two orientation sessions, Wednesday and Sept. 14, for the weekend.

"They go through an orientation where both the parents and the boy meet mentors and we sort of do a mutual interview," River said. "We're not interested in forcing anybody to participate in this, no matter how much parents want them to. It has to be their choice."

The weekend will feature interactions with both adult mentors and "journeymen" who are boys who have participated in the weekend previously.

The national nonprofit was brought to New Mexico two years ago.

The Rites of Passage Adventure Weekend is the start of a mentoring relationship if the young men who participate choose to have one.

After the weekend, the boys will be able to meet with mentor groups every two weeks.

"Boys tend to be more into being in groups — that's why they're more drawn to things like gangs," River noted. "Group mentoring works better than one-on-one mentoring.

The boys who continue to participate have a great time. They have a whole group of men to look up to and they pick the ones they like and connect with."

River said the New Mexico chapter of Boys to Men is just "finding our feet," he said. "We've gotten a lot better about ongoing meetings and doing things the boys are interested in doing."

The organization has more mentors, 32, than boys. River is hoping to attract more boys because the mentors are eager to get working.

He noted that the program is designed to help "raise teenage boys," he said. "It takes some load off parents trying to get their kids through these difficult years intact."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.